Chapter 60: On These Vulture Wings Part Two

Chapter Sixty: On these Vulture Wings Part Two:

Silence was bliss.

It was not however something that a certain web slinger could deal with. His fingers twitched, approximately ten minutes after that weapon had launched down. Spider-Man struggled to his feet, his head ringing as he collapsed right to his knees.

“That was about ten times worse than Shocker and he packs quite a punch,” thought Spider-Man groggily as he was just able to shake off the majority of the attack but there were lingering after effects. “Got to find the Vulture...got to get rid of this splitting headache too....thankfully that didn't kill anyone, although its going to be a while before they are getting up.

Weakly and gingerly, Spider-Man staggered from side to side. He had been nailed pretty hard by some powerful foes but this seemed to be worse.

“How, am going to fight an entire plane?” thought Spider-Man. “Especially one that has those weapons. Vulture is linked into the plane. He can see and hear me coming. I've got to move quickly. I might not have another chance.”

XXXXX-XXXXX

High above the city, plane continued to move, as people moved in terror. The military was being called but it was a delicate situation. After so many people were slaughtered when Electro went on his rampage the previous month, New York was not ready for another super villain to lord over them.

“Osborn, I know you're in this city somewhere!” echoed the voice of Adrian Toomes throughout the city. “I could care less about all of these peons, its you I wish to dispose with Osborn! I'll rip this entire city to pieces with your little toy, if you don't surrender yourself to me! I want to take everything that you took from me back, with interest! OSBORN, QUIT HIDING!”

Several razor sharp claw like implements blasted from the side of the plane and clung right to the building. The concrete cracked, as The Vulture continued to fly over the town, in an attempt to locate its prey. The tracking system was implemented but it turned up negative.

“This thing must not be properly calibrated,” grumbled Toomes, as he moved around on the keyboard, and punched in a few commands. “Its not picking up Osborn. Once I figure out how to properly access the tracking module, he'll know everything I've lost.”

A blip appeared on the radar and something swung right through the city. Toomes shifted the plane high as he spotted Spider-Man.

“So, the insect still wishes to foil my plans,” said Vulture, as he pressed a yellow triangle on the panel. “I have no time for games.”

Spider-Man swung from side to side on the outside and a giant net blasted from the beak of the Vutlture. He avoided the attack and he swung right, before he jumped right upon the front of the plane. However, he quickly began to slip and slide, as he struggled to maintain his footing.

“Osborn must have coated this with something, that keeps me from being able to stick,” thought Spider-Man as he managed to spiral out of control as his grip slipped. The plane rose up above the buildings in the city and moved ever so higher, as Spider-Man managed to cushion his fall somewhat on a patch of grass. “Well no broken bones...at least nothing big.”

Spider-Man continued his pursuit of the plane but the Vulture accerlated forward and sent three minature orbs from the back of it. The orbs shot metal cables, to wrap around Spider-Man and began to move in opposite directions. He struggled, to prevent himself from being ripped in four different directions, drawn and quartered in mid air.

“Got to do something,” thought Spider-Man in pain as felt the strain on his limbs. “These things are going to rip me....got it!”

Spider-Man gave a tug and it swung all three of the orbs into the building where they completely smashed open from the impact and once again, the web slinger continued, as the Vulture continued on his manic, single minded persuit to take down Norman Osborn.

“I can't believe I'm trying to save Osborn after what he's done...oh wait, he's cured, allegedly, he doesn't remember anything, but still, its a hard one to swallow,” thought Spider-Man bitterly. “Still, the innocent people too and the fact that the right thing to do has to balance out my personal objections about one man.”

XXXXX-XXXXX

Liz Allan sat on the cushioned chair in her bedroom, right in front of the computer, almost bored. Granted the streaming video footage of the latest super villain struggle featuring Spider-Man that was currently broadcasted over the Internet was a momentarily distraction from the dull day, but as a life long New Yorker, she was beginning to get desentized to any excitement that came with such strangeness.

Right now her parents were out, her step brother had just began some kind of work program as a requirement to complete his science degree in chemistry, Harry was in Europe, and her other friends were otherwise preoccupied. It was a rather boring day and she was hoping for something, anything to make it a bit more interesting.

The cell phone right to the side of her desk rang and she picked it up immediately, desperate for something to add something of substance to her day.

“Liz?” asked the voice of Harry Osborn on the other end of the phone, sounding a bit panicked and somewhat out of it as well.

“Harry, I didn't think you'd be back before now,” said Liz in excitement. “You weren't supposed to be back from Europe for another week. Where are you now?”

“In jail,” said Harry in a small voice and there was a long silence. “Liz?”

“You're where?” asked Liz.

“Jail, I got arrested at the airport, they opened my suitcase...I really need bail, please,” said Harry. “Its ten thousand dollars.”

“Harry, I don't have that kind of money lying around,” said Liz as she still tried to wrap her hand that her boyfriend was in jail. She wondered what on earth he could have done.

“In my room I do, spare change under the mattress you know, there should be enough right there, I know, I had to...well I had to be creative with where company funds when I was in charge,” stated Harry as he slightly slurred his speech and made it difficult to understand. “If Dad finds out he'll kill me.”

“Why are you in jail?” pressed Liz, many questions were on her mind but she went for the most obvious one's.

“Please, get the money and I'll tell you everything,” said Harry. “I need to tell you where....hang on....”

Liz sighed, she had wanted the day to be a bit more interesting, but this was not exactly what she had in mind at all.

XXXXX-XXXXX

“If I can't find Osborn, I guess I'm going to have to put his little toy to good use,” said Toomes, as piloted the plane over the city as he speculated where he could go next. There were many possiblities, any of them would be acceptable to replicate the wealth he lost when Osborn swindled him.

A beeping sound on the radar indicated that he had company of the spider sort.

“Don't want to give up?” echoed the booming voice of the Vulture, as Spider-Man continued to circle around the plane, as he swung around.

“Knock me out of the sky if you can, Vulture!” called Spider-Man as he continued to hit the side of the plane as he circled around the webbing.

“You will learn who these skies belong to!” shouted Vulture, as a small miniature laser erupted from the beak of the plane and shot a stream of fire, which sliced right through the webbing and caused Spider-Man to spiral right towards the ground but he managed to readjust his footing.

“Man, this plane has more gadgets than Iron Man,” thought Spider-Man. “This isn't going to be a battle that you can win on your own.”

Two police helicopters moved in and aimed their weapons right at the plane and began to open fire, but they were heavily outmatched. Two rocket blasts ripped right through the air and connected with the helicopters, to knock them right off balance. As he zipped from side to side, Spider-Man had managed to rescue the occupants fo the two vehicles and set them down gently.

“We're fine!” shouted one of the pilots. “Go get him Spidey and don't go easy on him!”

Spider-Man managed to launch himself right into the air with a somersault and land right on one of the eyes of the Vulture plane. The web slinger struggled valiantly to get a grasp.

XXXXX-XXXXX

Inside, Toomes recoiled in slight pain, as it felt like a blunt force trauma had hit him square in the eye. Angrily, he smashed a triangular yellow button.

XXXXX-XXXXX

Two miniature turrents jutted from the plane and began to fire an array of bullets right at Spider-Man, who managed to avoid getting showered with bullets. He shot a line of webbing right onto a lightpost as the Vulture moved on his merry way, as if Spider-Man was just an annoyance that he had to swat away.

“Okay, Spidey, you're not going to go toe to toe with a plane about twenty times your size,” thought Spider-Man. “You're going to have to use your brain. Outsmart the bird. Its not going to be easy, Toomes is rather sharp, he would have had to be to invent that state of the art technology but if I play on his obsession with Osborn, I might have him.”

XXXXX-XXXXX

Liz slipped right into Harry's room quickly. There was something rather uneasy about the fact that she was pretty much responsible for getting ahold of this money that Harry had underneath his bed without being caught by his father or anyone else. It was a rather small favor that Norman Osborn seemed to be preoccupied with the entire Vulture situation. She took a careful step down the hallway and opened Harry's room. It had the obvious signs of a room that had not been slept in in over a month.

There was a loud crunch and Liz jumped, before she realized she had stepped on something that was underneath Harry's desk. She pulled it out and looked at it, with widened eyes. It was a half empty bottle of pescription pain kills and she only took a step forward, before she saw four more bottles in various states on the floor, hidden half hazardly, as if Harry only had a token effort.

“Harry, what were you into?” muttered Liz, this was something that left her flabbergasted but given Harry's wild swings in behavior, she suspected that he should have been obvious that he was on something. The pieces all fit. She was half tempted to go into the closet but she did not. Both for the fact that it would be invading Harry's privacy a bit too much and she was afraid of what she would fine in their. She saw a few pescriptions filled out and could not help but see that they were from different doctors. Whatever Harry had, he got technically legally, not that was any comfort given the number of pills that were visible from a token look.

“It's a wonder Harry's dad didn't find any of these things,” thought Liz. “Of course, he's never around, never was. No wonder Harry's so messed up...oh well don't jump to conclusions, but this looks bad. I better let him explain what's going on.”

Liz pulled back the mattress and saw more pescription notes underneath, from various doctors and several more bottles some used, some not but she collected the money that Harry needed.

“I can't believe he just left this stuff lying around,” thought Liz. “Unless he was so far gone...I don't know what I should do, but I better get him out and worry about it later.”

Liz slipped from the room, not able to stomach being in there a second longer and afraid that she might find something else in there.

XXXXX-XXXXX

The plane of the Vulture whipped right through the air, as the roof of a building was cut off. The precious jewels inside were quickly lifted. Toomes looked on with pride, as the loot was collected. It was the third jewerly store he robbed and he would make a fortune nearly as large as the money that Osborn swindled him out of. He wished to find Osborn soon, it was a matter of pride that he took him down. As he piloted the plane to look for another place to knock off, a pair of trash cans flung through the air and smashed against the front of the plane. It caused no damage, but it was not a minor annoyance.

“Still looking for Osborn?” asked Spider-Man and suddenly, the Vulture's attention was right on Spider-Man. “Well, guess what, you dim witted canary, I know where he is and you still can't find one man in that plane. Must be senility setting in.”

“STOP HIDING HIM, SPIDER-MAN!” bellowed Toomes as his voice echoed throughout the city. “Give me Osborn and I might kill you quickly.”

“Man, if I had a quarter for every super villain that gave me that offer, I'd be a very rich friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” replied Spider-Man dully. “Now, if you want Osborn, all you have to do is catch me, if you can!”

Spider-Man spiralled into the air and swung high above the city, giving acobratic feets, as the plane fired up and Spider-Man waved at the plane, taunting the Vulture.

“Come on, you can do better than that!” shouted Spider-Man, as Vulture fired two rockets. Spider-Man shot a line of webbing around each of them and swung them up, where they spiralled right into the air and blew up far above the city. Vulture directed the plane, a yellow net shooting out but Spider-Man dodged out of the way. “So close, yet so far? Come on, Toomes, do you need me to paint a large neon bullseye on me? Maybe you should put on a pair of glasses so you can see better. Eyesight has to be getting pretty bad by now!”

“Stop it, don't mock me!” yelled Vulture as he continued to fire and blast towards Spider-Man who continued to move around in an unpredictable manner. “I'm sick and tired of you making these cracks about my age.”

“Ah, is someone getting cranky?” asked Spider-Man mockingly. “Maybe you need a little nap!”

Vulture gave out an anguished cry and he continued his pursuit of Spider-Man, who dodged around the corner, right where a net of webbing was latched between two sturdy structures. The plane flew right into the web net, but Spider-Man jumped out of the way and he shot several more lines of webbing in a rapid fire fashion.

“All trapped and nowhere to go,” said Spider-Man, as he looked at the Vulture's attempts to free the plane. “Wrapped up this one nicely, didn't we?”

The plane suddenly appeared to heat up and the webbing began to dissolve quickly, before it turned around and a claw like arm retracted from the plane, before it latched onto Spider-Man. The web head was caught off guard and began to struggle frantically but the loud booming laughter of the Vulture echoed from an insane distrance.

“Hard to breath,” thought Spider-Man. “This metal is stronger, stronger than my spider strength!”

“It's the end game for you, Spider-Man,” thundered Vulture as he continued to put the squeeze on the web slinger, but he managed to slip his arm free. “Now, where is Osborn?”

“I don't know,” gasped Spider-Man as he struggled.

“You tried to fool me,” echoed the amplified voice of the Vulture as several sharp blades retracted, and looked about seconds away to slice Spider-Man right to ribs. “YOU TRIED TO DECEIVE ME! Well, Spider-Man, you've just dug your own grave. I've got you now!”

Spider-Man swung his legs backwards and swung up in an attempt to get free. The arm shifted and both of the feet connected with the side panel, right in the auditory sensors.

Vulture gave a pain scream, as the claw released Spider-Man and caused him to spiral to the ground, before he swung upwards, and he pulled himself up, to hang upside down.

“Interesting, those sensors work both ways, the right way and the wrong way,” thought Spider-Man, as he swung around, before he drilled a huge elbow right into the side of the auditory sensors. He continued to bounce his feet right off the sensors again and again.

“STOP IT, YOU FOOL!” shouted Vulture in a pained voice, as he felt like he was getting kicked in the ear repeatedly again and again.

“YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?” shouted Spider-Man right into the auditory sensor and Vulture screamed, as the sensor blew and the plane learched, as it began to fly awkwardly out of control.

Spider-Man pulled himself up and just barely managed to latch onto the side, before he pried it open, before he saw the Vulture slumped over, detatched from the sensor helmet. Spider-Man slid Vulture out of the chair and managed to steer the plane.

“What the, the steering on this thing is a bit screwed up,” thought Spider-Man, as he tried to put on the sensory helmet but the feedback was just too much. “Alright, I've got to do this the normal way. What a piece of junk...a several hundred thousand dollar piece of junk but a piece of junk nevertheless.”

Spider-Man held onto the wheel, somehow, he managed to keep it from crashing into any populated areas, before he was up into the air, as the plane began to sputter, right in the ocean right off to the side. Spider-Man collected the half conscious Vulture, before he jumped out, latched onto a web line, as he watched the plane crash right into the sea, before it crumbled into several pieces, the salt water which caused it to break it apart.

Spider-Man held the battered form of Adrian Toomes, and webbed him upside down, as the sirens echoed. He was starting to come to after being rendered unconcious with the sensory helmet feedback.

“Man, how did Osborn really expect something like this to hold up long term?” mused Spider-Man as he saw the rapidly crumbling remains. “Yell it its auditory sensor and the entire plane is down. It doesn't make any sense. A real piece of junk.”

Toomes was cuffed and put in the back of a cop car.

“One day, Osborn, one day, I'll have you!” shouted Toomes in a crazed voice, as he rocked back and forth. He was slightly defeaned in his right ear and he had a slight headache from the sound loop.

“Calm down, old timer, we'll get your meds and you'll have a nice vacation in Ravencroft,” said one of the officers.

“RAVENCROFT?” bellowed the Vulture in a crazed voice. “RETURN ME TO RYKER'S! I'M NOT INSANE! I'M NOT INSANE!”

“Ease up there, don't want you having a stroke, that would be a burden on the taxpayers,” said an officer as The Vulture continued to yell incoherantly about his revenge against Osborn, Spider-Man, and the fact that he was not insnae.

XXXXX-XXXXX

Norman sat back and watched the broadcast, a slight smirk on his face, as he watched Spider-Man manage to figure out the one defect in the plane and turn it against that old buzzard, before it crashed and busted into multiple unusable pieces. The plane that had cost him twenty five thousand dollars to make, using mostly used parts, had been completely destroyed from the impact. After he pressed a button on his watch, he reached over to the phone, for a very important call to make.

“Mr. Williams, this is Norman Osborn, I believe you've seen the dreadful and unforeseen incident with the plane on the news,” said Norman. “Yes, I would like to collect on the the policy, indeed, the fifty million dollar policy that I put on the plane, yes, I could come by tommorow by noon, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. I can assure you that if this incident is dealt with quickly and without Wilson Fisk finding out about it, you will get your standard cut of the collection.”

Norman Osborn turned and walked off. It had only just begun.

XXXXX-XXXXX

Liz stepped inside the jail, rather nervous. It was in one of the seedier parts of the town and she could have sworn that she heard nearby gunshots. She was taken out of her bubble of security, as she stepped forward, the money in hand to a guard, who leaned against the wall.

“What?” snarled the guard, as he spat chewing tobacco at the floor.

“I'm here for Harry Osborn, bailing him out,” said Liz.

“Ah, so the little punk got the money after all,” said the guard in a disinterested voice. “Rich kids, I have to work every day of my life, paying my hard earned money to my ex-wife so she can sleep with half of the guys in New York, and some people get everything handed to them. Then everyone talks about how sad it is when they get f'ed out of their mind with drugs but I'm not sorry for them. Serves the little bastards right if they just offed themselves. Daddy'll will just buy them a new Mercedes and everything will be all better.”

“What happened?” asked Liz nervously.

“Kid caused a stir at the airport, police found some candy in his bags,” stated the guard. “Just give me the money and he'll be out of here. He's stinking up my jail.”

Liz handed him the money, trying to hide her disgust at the rude behavior.

“Does he have a trial that he needs to go to?” asked Liz in the most polite tone that she could manage.

“No, punk can go home and do more drugs for all we care, he's paid up, he can move on with his life or end it,” said the guard rudely as he walked over and opened the cell. “Osborn, out, now.”

Harry got to his feet, in a dazed and confused manner, as he saw Liz. His head was still rather messed up, he had little to no recollection with what happened in the past day or two, but he assumed that he called Liz and made bail.

“Let's go,” muttered Liz, as she looked uncomfortable. She wanted to get out of this jail and this part of town, as soon as possible. Harry followed her and once Liz had drove away. “So, Harry, you decided to go to an airport out of your mind and you had drugs in your suitcase.”

“No, Liz, listen to me, I really...they weren't mine,” said Harry shakily. “Someone put them there and they must have slipped something in my drink, there was a party right before I left, a great time too.”

“So they planted them in your suitcase,” said Liz with a frown. “Just like they planted all of those pill bottles in your room and the perscriptions all in your name.”

“Well, those are mine, but I had perscriptions for them,” said Harry but if Liz did not have to pay attention to the road, she would have glared at him. She quickly pulled into a nearby park and put the car in park. She turned around. “You're not mad at me are you?”

“Harry, when did this all start?” asked Liz and there was a pause.

“Well, the Vulture, when he dropped me last Summer, I broke my collarbone,” said Harry. “It hurt, and I got something for it, but I enjoyed the way that they made me feel...the pills, they made me forget about everything that I had to deal with. Just take a pill here and a pill there and it was bliss, I didn't have to care, because I didn't with them, it was great. I felt good. I kept getting them, the doctors, they're great, you know, because if you give them the money, they'll take care of you, I mean, hook you up with the good stuff, if you slip them something, they'll slip you something, you know what I mean.”

“Harry, the were perscribed for your injuries, not to help you cope, you should have talked to someone if you were having problems,” said Liz trying to figure out how Harry could do this to himself, how he could throw away his life. She had lived in her own bubble in many ways, these were problems that she heard about that complete strangers had to deal with, not anyone she knew. She didn't know if she could handle a situation like this.

“Hey, everything was legal, through a doctor, you saw the notes,” said Harry. “Would you have rather had me buy them from a back alley from some gangster?”

“Harry, that's not the...” said Liz but her voice trailed off in frustration. “Harry, you know what you have to do now?”

“Yeah, I've got to do a better job in hiding it,” slurred Harry slightly, not blinking. “I really could use something right now, it was a drag not having anything....”

“HARRY OSBORN!” shouted Liz angrily. “You haven't learned anything from this, have you?”

“I thought I told you, I did,” said Harry. “Look, Liz, you need to chill, okay, I slipped up, I can handle it.”

“Yeah, Harry, you really look like you're handling it,” said Liz as she rolled her eyes as Harry just winced.

“Could you please get me home Liz?” asked Harry as his eyes darted from side to side. “Someone's here, I don't know why, but I don't like it.”

“I suppose, we should leave,” said Liz, but she could not see anything nearby and she put the car back into drive and drove.

“This is absolutely insane, I mean, how could he do this, to himself?” thought Liz as she heard Harry moving around in the back seat, jumpy with every other noise.”And there were signs, we all should have seen this, but we thought it was the stress of running the company, the stress of his father being the Goblin, everything, but now it makes too much sense.”

They had reached the outside of the mansion and there appeared to be no one around. As was so often, Norman Osborn was not present at his own home.

“Liz, I appreciate this, really I do,” said Harry in a small tone.

“Harry, you really need help, you have a problem, a big problem, I'll do whatever I can to support you, and I'm sure Peter and Gwen will when you talk to them,” said Liz.

“No, you can't tell them what happened!” yelled Harry frantically as his eyes darted from side to side and he began shaking for a few seconds, befor he calmed down.

“They wouldn't keep something like this from you,” said Liz firmly and Harry just snorted.

“Yeah, I get the feeling sometimes that they are, they have some kind of private joke that they won't let me in on, we used to be the best of friends, but we're drifting apart I guess,” said Harry as he shivered, before he continued to look around. “With Peter especially, I think he keeps things from me all of the time, that he tells Gwen, I don't know what, but I just have this feeling.”

“Harry, don't be paranoid, Peter's not keeping anything from you,” said Liz. “That's the pills talking, that just proves that you need help.”

“Maybe,” said Harry. “But life is going to be so much harder, I mean, I don't know, how I'm going to do this.”

“Harry, you're going to end up being another....well...it's not going to end well,” said Liz. “I don't know if I can handle that, but if you keep this up, I don't know if I can handle being with you anymore.”

“What are you saying, Liz?” asked Harry with a confused, slightly pathetic expression on his face.

“Get the help Harry, please,” said Liz. “It's either the pills or me. One of us has to go.”

Harry just sighed and it was almost like he was mentally weighing his options, considering this choice.

“I suppose I might have a problem, and I'll try, Liz, I'll really try, if it really does mean that much to you,” said Harry with a pained expression on his face.

“It does,” said Liz. “Get the help that you need Harry, and you know we're there for you.”

“Don't tell Pete and Gwen about this,” said Harry.

“That's up to you Harry,” said Liz but Harry just walked off, in a funk, without really saying good bye. Liz watched him leave, a saddened look on her face.

“It's not like I can really force him to do anything, I'm sure Peter and Gwen would be better off getting through his thick skull but I did promise Harry and why do I have a feeling that I'm going to hate myself,” thought Liz. “Telling his father is out, for obvious reasons. I just have to have someone who might be able to help Harry a little bit...maybe Spider-Man, I mean he does help people. Oh get a grip on yourself, he has better things to do than play councilor...but I don't think he would turn me down if I asked him to have a talk with Harry. Yeah, I think I might tell Spider-Man, I mean Harry never told me that I couldn't tell him. But how am I going to get in touch with him, I wonder?”

XXXXX-XXXXX

As he stepped inside his room, Harry collapsed right against the table, before he reached inside the drawer, hands shaking frantically. He was barely able to hold it together for this long. It had only been less than twelve hours since he had last taken them but he needed a fix badly. With shaking hands, he opened the pill bottle.

“Just one more time,” thought Harry as he had a handful of pills and could not shove them into his mouth quickly enough, he was in intense pain every moment he did not feel the bliss of being on them. “What Liz won't know won't hurt her. Besides, I'm in control. I can quit at any time.”

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